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“Surname Saturday” is a prompt used by a lot of genealogy bloggers. I’m trying out using prompts to see how I like it. It’s a bit embarassing to start with the family of Viola Templeton because I know so little about them. But I’ve been sharing a little about my (step) grandmother Viola Templeton Hockensmith this week, so it is what it is.

Viola and Timothy Templeton

Viola Nell Templeton was born May 1, 1902 to Ernest M. Templeton and Erma Wandler Templeton on the family farm near Junction City, Kansas. She had one brother, Timothy, born about 1904. Viola lived all of her life in Geary County, Kansas.

Viola’s father, Ernest M. Templeton was born about 1874 in Michigan. In the 1880 census, he is 6 years old, living with his family in Perry, Shiawassee County, Michigan. The other children in the home are William J., age 16; Mryta (or Myrtie?), age 14; Marion L., age 12; and Allen T., age 10.

At age 32, Ernest M. Templeton is married to Emma Wandler and living in Lyon, Geary County, Kansas with their children Viola and Timothy.

Ernest M. Templeton is the son of Timothy M. Templeton and Hannah J. ?. Timothy M. Templeton was born in New York in November of 1834.

That’s all I’ve got.

I hope that these posts the last few days about Viola Templeton will inspire my Hockensmith kin to share what they know about the family. I’d love to know if Viola shared any stories about her childhood with you, if you have any of her recipes, if you have pictures, and just your memories of time spent with her. Please comment or email and we’ll continue the conversation.

The first time I visited my new Hockensmith (step)grandparents (Glenn and Viola), breakfast delivered a bit of a shock and a delight. Sure, I’d been allowed sugar at breakfast in the form of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or Post Alphabits cereal or just plain old sugar on the unsweetened stuff, but never before had I witnessed what passed as breakfast on the Hockensmith farm.

There sat Grandpa and his sons, with serving-dish-size bowls and tablespoons at their places. The first thing that went into the bowl wasn’t unusual – just some bran flakes or Post Toasties. It was the next item that drew my attention – a slice of chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. A BIG piece of chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. A little milk and they were set. Breakfast was on.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to ruin a good piece of chocolate cake by mixng it up with milk and bran flakes. And I was pretty sure Mom wouldn’t go for a breakfast of chocolate cake solo. So I opted for cereal the usual way and hoped I’d get some of that chocolate cake later.
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I remember a time when Mom made it her mission to find the best chocolate cake recipe. In my mind, I have associated this memory with Viola’s chocolate cakes – that mom went on this quest to find a cake that dad(Jim) liked as well as his mother’s – but that may just be a figment of my imagination. What I feel certain I remember is this:

Mom baked a chocolate cake nearly every week, trying out recipe after recipe. We had red velvet, devil’s food, cake made with buttermilk, cake made with mayonnaise, and cake made with pickle juice. I’m not kidding. I remember a cake made with pickle juice. It had a little tangy taste to it. In the end, it didn’t make the cut as THE chocolate cake recipe. In fact, I don’t know what cake recipe did earn that distinction. At some point, clothes were getting tight and the numbers on the scale were getting higher and mom was forced to abandon the weekly search for the perfect chocolate cake.

Instead, I offer you this recipe for chocolate cake made with mayonnaise from Best Recipes of the Great Food Companies. The story behind the cake as told in the cookbook: “In 1937 the Hellmann’s Company managers learned that Mrs. Paul Price, wife of a sales distributor, had created an astonishingly rich cake. The deep, dark chocolate flavor and moist texture were attributed to the addition of an unconventional ingredient: mayonnaise.”

A punny solution to the problem of what to do with your gum when you have to spit it out, but it’s too good to throw away.

A gum shoe….. get it?

A gift from (my step) Grandmother Viola Templeton Hockensmith.

Piggy bank from Grandmother Hockensmith

And this is my cute piggy bank. If I’m not mistaken, my sisters each have a personalized piggy bank as well. How about the other grandkids? I’m betting you got one too. If you have your piggy bank, you should send me a picture of it and we’ll have a little piggy party.

Viola enjoyed painting ceramics and went to the ceramics shop in Junction City every week to work on gifts for her family and enjoy the socializing as well. I loved going with her when I visited. Maybe I’ll post some of my ceramics another time. My pet turtles were probably the inspiration for this last one.

Gift from Grandmother Hockensmith

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And because the refrain of this song keeps going through my head, I’ll include it for your listening pleasure! (And it gives me a chance to try out embedding!)